Waiting for elections day

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In anticipation of the mayoral elections this sunday, the government has issued a ley seca (dry law), meaning that there will be no sales of alcohol allowed anywhere for the whole of the weekend. While some people here are conjuring up the most gloomy of domesday scenarios for elections day, including the idea that the whole country will be effectively shut down without electricity, internet and water, others believe that absolutely nothing will happen. But most people seem to agree that if the opposition manages to get anywhere near the percentage that they are hoping to get there will be at least some unrest going on and many people have adviced me to stock up on groceries and not be frightened by hightened military precence on the streets. At home, few people would even bother about mayoral elections but here the idea of kicking Chavez out has become such an obsession for many people that every battle counts as if it were the last. At least that is hugely prefereable to the widespread lack of action I thought I saw when I first arrived here and heard everyone complain a lot but failed to see anyone do anything about it. Although some of my friends here would no doubt feel happier if I stayed inside all weekend and locked the door behind me, I fully intend to visit the voting stations and witness democracy in action. I know this might just be me romanticizing daily hardships, but to me there really is something beautiful about democratic elections and the hope for change. Especially in a country where democracy has actually been questioned and the leader has been called a dictator on more than one occasion. And no matter if it comes from Chaves himself or someone else, this country really needs change.
As I was doing some food shopping earlier this week I couldn't manage to find any rice so I summoned some courage and asked one of the shop attendants "Disculpe, dónde está el arroz?" (Excuse me, where's the rice?"), to which he replied "Arroz? No hay." ("Rice? There is no rice."). On telling the story to my friend who lives in a different part of town she replied "No rice? Really? We have rice - I can get you some rice! But we haven't had yoghurt for three weeks.... do you have yoghurt?" This constant uncertainty and inability to feel confident that anything will ever work out the way you planned it is very much the Venezuelan reality.
The other day I was talking to one of my students whose mother is from Israel and I asked her about her holiday there last year. As she was telling me about her brother's bar mitzva and all her relatives there she suddenly said "You know what? I like Israel because I feel safe there. Children can walk to school alone with their keys around their necks and they are ok. That could never happen in Venezuela." How strange I thought, that anyone would consider Israel a safer place to live. Personally of course I don't know, having never been to Israel, but based on the daily news it's not exactly the first place I imagine people would choose to go to in order to feel safer. But that's the reality here.
Right now, all that is left to do is wait for sunday to see if this country is ready for change or not...

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